Is the iPhone Duo for you? - Inquirer Technology
To review the iPhone Duo is like asking how someone’s eighth can be another person’s first. This isn’t a review (yet). It is a collection of feelings from using the new iPhone Duo for the past 12 hours.
This is not my first foray with foldables. When I first held foldables from predecessors I remember joy – that feeling of a screen opening up to twice its size to reveal how hungry the human race is for more screen real estate. And as time passed, as foldables have become more ubiquitous in the pockets of Filipinos, that joy has been tempered. The tech has gotten better, definitely. But it no longer felt like a novelty.
That feeling, frozen in time perhaps five or so years ago, is what I am feeling now with the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable. It’s a hefty piece of technology. On my barista precision scale it weighs 253.7 grams, roughly a quarter of a kilo. Definitely not light. Definitely has some weight to it. But definitely forgivable as a first. Perhaps not the best with drawstring pants, but nonetheless it feels great folded – and unfolded when you’re knee deep, engrossed in its screen.
Speaking of the screen, we have to talk about it. When I first turned the device on, I thought the inner screen’s matte finish was a screen protector. Alas it was not! The matte finish has some anti-reflective properties that I find to be easy on the eyes (for someone in his mid-40’s). I believe there’s a future for this type of display for the iPhone as it really does you a favor under the harsh Manila sun.
The passport-sized Duo has three configurations. Folded, it’s a pocketable phone that’s great on the go. Because it’s closer to a square in form factor, it doesn’t take up as much real estate in your pocket. You can use it with one hand (or not) and it’s overall a good form-factor for messaging and social media. Unfolded, the Duo is closer to an iPad mini. You can grasp it with one hand, but it’s really meant best for games, spreadsheets, and reading. Yes, when in vertical mode, the Duo makes for a good e-reader. It is, in my opinion, the best way to browse websites and social newsfeeds rather than in horizontal mode. On the bedside, folding the iPhone Duo into a tent opens up standby mode, where widgets like the clock, calendar, and weather can easily be displayed by the bed in dim backlight.
When folded, the iPhone Duo can stand on its own, making it a great device for recording moments because you can prop it up without a Magsafe accessory. The 12MP Centerstage camera is almost invisible and elegantly placed on the upper right side of the outer screen. The Duo has two cameras on the back, the main 48MP Fusion Camera and the Ultra Wide 48MP Fusion Ultra Wide. When opened, it also has a hidden FaceTime camera that’s super fun to show off. I believe Apple takes some cues here with the hidden FaceID camera from the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max.
The iPhone Duo isn’t for everyone. But it’s a phone everyone would love to play with. At Apple’s core, the iPhone Duo is a brand new platform for developers to have fun with the iOS ecosystem. In fact some really cool apps already exist exclusively for the Duo such as Tiny Computers, a collection of retro computers including the classic iBook G3.
